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IndyBudget’s Deficit

The Credibility of a product is absolutely critical, whether it is coming from a brand-new startup, or an established corporation. There is a great deal that goes into the Credibility of a product, from the people that hype it, to its visual presentation. However, there are a few basic elements that go directly to the foundational aspects of product Credibility upon which the rest of the product’s truthfulness is built.

Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product’s User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usefulness, "Should I use it?" the sub-category of Credibility is one in the frequent discussion of cautious engagement, especially in the ever increasing, in both frequency and size, waves of introductions of online products.

Establishing and maintaining Credibility is the removal, or minimization of concerns arising from these types of questions. Many elements (design, accuracy, usability, timeliness, advertising, etc.) contribute to the positive, or negative, perception of overall product Credibility, but for Quick-UX’s evaluation we assess only the most elemental. For a refresher of the Quick-UX Credibility Rubric visit: Quick-UX & Credibility: Do you believe?

Today, we will look at the third of a set of three products that just barely (and almost) achieved a Low Credibility value of 0.325.

Low Credibility

In the set of examples of Low Credibility, that we are exploring, each demonstrates a severe lack in fundamentals. Interesting to this group is the fact each just barely (or almost) achieved the Quick-UX Credibility value of 0.325, resulting from…

No obvious typos, and

Some form (some very minimal) method of contact provided.

Example 3: IndyBudget

IndyBudget looks like it may be a really handy online financial product.

But, it is a financial product in need of a stimulus, an injection of Credibility. All products need to have a level of Credibility, and within a financial product this is even more true.

On the plus side, there are screenshots of the product and a prominently placed contact tab on the homepage that brings the user to the contact form.

However, while this contact form is already more robust than Convert Files, its dearth of information too barely counts as an instantly trustworthy method of contact.

It Takes Money

Unique to IndyBudget, amongst its peers within this set of borderline 0.325 Low Credibility products, is that it has a paid subscription component.

IndyBudget is a web product, with weak fundamentals of Credibility, that wants your money. At the current level of Credibility establishment, this is a good deal to be asking of any user.

The basis of IndyBudget’s Credibility resides in a lack of typos and having a contact form. With Low Credibility, asking for any amount of money, asking for any credit card information, is a tremendous hurdle over which to coax your consumers.

Should Do

This is a product with exciting upside potential. But, it must firmly establish its Credibility within the competitive market of online financial products. A financial product must aim higher when establishing and growing its Credibility; even more critical for a product that wants your money.

To create the needed Credibility, IndyBudget needs to lay crucial cornerstones. Such as…

Provide both email and telephone contact information,

Display your physical address, and

Show the people that stand behind this product (and how to speak with them).

IndyBudget should definitely go beyond these basics in building up its Credibility; as should any product hoping to be a repository for such critically sensitive information as an individual’s finances or requesting any credit card payments. Additional constructive steps IndyBudget should consider are…

Provide details about the security of the environment within which this data is stored

Present a simplified explanation of the treatment of financial, as well as credit card, data

Better convey why IndyBudget exists, its long- and short-term goals for the company and for the consumer

Launch a blog that keeps users up-to-date on relevant events and goals

Note: This blog should not sound nor feel like a robot writing. Make it real; enable your consumers to connect and feel connected to the real individuals behind IndyBudget.

Quick & Useful

Over the next few weeks I will be exploring and ins-and-outs of Credibility, walking through real-world examples of the Quick-UX evaluation of Credibility …

Subscribe now (click here) to make sure you don’t miss any part of this series exploring the Usefulness and Credibility components of Quick-UX, the quick and easy method of generating quantifiable and comparable metrics representing the understanding of the overall User Experience of a product, as well as other insightful posts from The Product Guy.

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About Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn is an award-winning, product management veteran with thirteen years of experience leading and managing product teams. Jeremy has held various executive and advisory roles, from founder of several start-ups to driving diverse organizations in online services, consumer products, and social media. As founder of The Product Group, he has created the largest product management meetup in the world and hosts the annual awarding of The Best Product Person. Jeremy can currently be found pioneering the next generation of content management and sharing at Viacom, acting as creator and instructor of the 10-week product management course at General Assembly, and mentoring at Women 2.0 and Lean Startup Machine.
Follow Jeremy on twitter @theproductguy or his blog at http://tpgblog.com.